Solutions
  1. Home
  2. Insights
  3. AI Act & Machinery Regulation

EU AI Act, Machinery Regulation and CRA: the dates for industrial AI

Four EU texts touch AI and automation in plants. The dates moved in 2026, so here they are in one place, with the official sources.

Talk to an engineer

Updated: 24 October 2026 · SIM Solutions

Short answer

The AI Act applies in stages: prohibitions and AI literacy since 2 February 2025, general-purpose AI rules since 2 August 2025 and general application since 2 August 2026. The Digital Omnibus (Regulation (EU) 2026/1744, in force 27 July 2026) moved high-risk rules for Annex III systems to 2 December 2027 and for AI embedded in products such as machinery to 2 August 2028. The Machinery Regulation applies from 20 January 2027, Cyber Resilience Act reporting duties since 11 September 2026, and NIS2 has applied in Belgium since 18 October 2024.

Timeline

DateRuleWhat it means
18 Oct 2024NIS2 in BelgiumCybersecurity duties for essential and important entities, including manufacturing sectors
2 Feb 2025AI ActProhibited AI practices and AI literacy apply
2 Aug 2025AI ActRules for general-purpose AI models and governance apply
27 Jul 2026Digital Omnibus on AIRegulation (EU) 2026/1744 enters into force and moves several dates
2 Aug 2026AI ActGeneral application, with the exceptions below
11 Sep 2026Cyber Resilience ActManufacturers must report actively exploited vulnerabilities and severe incidents
20 Jan 2027Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230Replaces the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC
2 Dec 2027AI Act (after Omnibus)High-risk rules for Annex III systems
11 Dec 2027Cyber Resilience ActMain obligations for products with digital elements
2 Aug 2028AI Act (after Omnibus)High-risk AI embedded in products under Annex I, such as machinery

What this means on the plant floor

  • AI literacy. The Omnibus rewrote Article 4: providers and deployers must take measures to support the AI literacy of their staff. Train the people who use the assistants.
  • Machinery. The Machinery Regulation covers AI that ensures safety functions through learning techniques; such systems need third-party conformity assessment. The Omnibus moved the Machinery Regulation to Section B of AI Act Annex I, so AI requirements for machinery are handled through the machinery rules.
  • Assistants that inform people. Whether a system is high-risk depends on its intended use. Document what your assistant does, keep people deciding and keep it out of safety functions.
  • Suppliers. Ask your machine builders and software suppliers how they handle the Cyber Resilience Act and the Machinery Regulation.

Questions we get

Does the AI Act apply to an operator assistant?

The AI Act applies to AI systems in general, with extra duties for high-risk uses. An assistant that explains alarms is a different case from AI that controls a safety function. Check your use case against the official texts or with a legal adviser.

Did the Digital Omnibus delay everything?

No. It moved the high-risk dates and changed some duties, such as AI literacy. Prohibitions and the general-purpose AI rules already apply.

Where can I read the official texts?

On EUR-Lex and the European Commission's AI Act page, linked below.

This page explains public rules in plain language. It is not legal advice.

Sources

Contact

A new line, an upgrade, or AI for your plant?

Tell us about your project and we will set up a technical call.

SIM Solutions BV Lansiersstraat 18
2800 Mechelen, Belgium E-mail: info@simsolutions.be Enterprise no. / VAT: BE 0680.932.773